Please Don't Leave Me
by MarleyInTheFields
Summary: An old friend comes to break the boring loops of Gary's research. Gary first thought he was only going to be a bother at the lab, but he realizes he missed him more than he could ever imagine. Palletshipping.
1. The Dream

**Story: **Please Don't Leave Me

**Author: **Marrl

**Rating: **T

**Genre: **Romance/Humor

**Spoilers: **None

**Warnings: **Boy x boy hints/relationships in the later chapters, and some mild swearing.

**Pairing: **Ash/Gary (Palletshipping)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokémon, but I hope you already knew that.

**Summary:** An old friend comes to break the boring loops of Gary's research. Gary first thought he was only going to be a bother at the lab, but he realises he missed him more than he could ever imagine. Palletshipping.

**Author's note: **My third English fic already! Thank you all for the reviews you placed on my other stories. Reviews make me smile :)  
My English isn't perfect, I know there are some grammar/spelling mistakes in it.  
Anywaaay, the first chapter of the story is going to be really boring. But I don't want to rush so please don't be angry. ;_;

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_**1. The Dream**_

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It was just like I was standing in the mist.

Everywhere I looked, I saw the same white-coloured smoke. The smoke wasn't really transparent, because I couldn't look further than a small four metres. In the distance there were shadows in sight in random forms I couldn't identify. The sky had a light-gray colour. I turned around. There stood a shadow which stood the closest near me compared to the other shadowy forms. The shadow wasn't taller than I was. I began to wonder if it was a reflection of me. But the shadow acted different than I did. It shouted something, what was almost inaudible for me. The shadow pointed to my right hand, I followed its finger. A Pokéball. The shadow shouted again, this time I was able to hear it.

"I challenge you to a battle!"

I couldn't say no to that. But my head hurt because of this situation. The shadow threw a Pokéball in the air. An indefinable Pokémon appeared. My 'Pokémon' had the same problem. The only thing I could see were two smaller black shadows. A new kind of Pokémon? No, worse, the Pokémon started fighting already without having my command. I tried to stop the Pokémon by calling him back, but the words couldn't come out of my throat. The other human-like shadow began to scream fanatically, it sounded like it was Chinese. The shadow Pokémon reacted, though. The two got into a fierce battle. After a while, I didn't know which Pokémon was mine any more. One of the Pokémon tackled the other one. The tackled Pokémon fell and he fainted. The human-like shadow ran to its beloved Pokémon. The shadow murmured something I couldn't hear again, but it sounded disappointed.

With care, the shadow put the Pokémon in his Pokéball again. The shadow turned towards me. Then, I finally heard something that was completely clear for me.

"Goodbye, Gary."

The shadow turned around, and slowly walked away into the white smoke.

_No…_

_Please…_

_Don't go away… again…!_

_-_

My eyes flew open. I was lying in my bed. So it was a dream, a weird one for sure. My hand searched for the digital clock that stood on my night table. It's past twelve already. I groaned, and attempted to get up. I slandered to the bathroom with the dream in the back of my head. Oh well, after ten minutes it would've left my mind already.

Once in the bathroom, I stared into the mirror. What I saw was a boy with hair what you could almost use as a Spearow-nest, and incredibly huge bags under his grumpy eyes. I definitely wasn't a morning person, however, technically seen it was noon already. I let the water flow in de sink and I tried to scrub the bags on my face away.

"Gary?" a voice asked me from the doorway of the bathroom.

"Gramps," my voice was horribly hoarse.

"Was it you who was screaming just a minute ago?" he wanted to know.

I looked to his reflection in the mirror. "I screamed?"

His eyes slid over me cautiously. "Well, I heard someone screaming "don't go away'. I thought it came from your room."

I took a towel out of the closet to dry my face with it. "That's possible," I mumbled in the towel.

"Are you going to work soon?"

"I'm going to make breakfast first," I protested.

"I guess you mean your lunch," my grandfather said. He tapped on his watch and walked down the stairs again.

I sighed. I shuffled to my own room to inspect my wardrobe. I threw some clothes out from which I thought it would fit the weather. Again, another tiring day. Making reports and taking care of the Pokémon. All I wanted to do now was going to my bed and sleep the rest of the day. What did he expect from me? I'm but fifteen, damnit.

Still sleepy, I dressed myself. I wasn't anything special: A light-blue shirt and a pair of old jeans. I didn't really care how I looked like today. The only living beings who were going to see me this day were the Pokémon. And gramps. They both better keep their mouths shut, especially my grandfather.

With my laptop and a load of paperwork under my arm, I stepped towards the kitchen. There, I put two slices of bread in my mouth. Before I actually ate them I left the back door to the fields already. I searched for the hill I sat pretty often. On the hill there stood a group of small trees, there was more than enough shadow. Ideal because of the burning sun of course. I plumped down in front of the trees and I laid the stuff I was holding next to me, except for my laptop. I turned it on, but before I got the chance to even take a look at it, there stood a Pokémon that was eating my paperwork. A young Girafarig was happily nibbling on my report.

"Damn you, Girafarig," I hissed between my teeth. I leaned forward to the Girafarig, whose head was close to the ground. I gave a push on the side of the Pokémon's jaw. The Girafarig let the paperwork fall down on the grass immediately. I collected the papers, which were fully disorganized. There were a few bites in the paper.

"Gramps!" I called. Somewhere in the distance I saw my grandfather looking at me.

"The Girafarig are hungry!" He held up his thumb, which likely had the meaning he was going to feed them soon.

I sighed again and I started to work on my laptop. A part of the paperwork needed to be written again. So I got double the work for today. I yawned when I started with the fourth paragraph about the Pokémon evolution theory. I wished my grandfather and I could switch places now. My body was more active if I did, so my mind didn't have to do all the work. It hurt like hell. I was glad I sometimes got the chance to do things like grandpa. That was because we were the only one at the lab the upcoming period. Usually, the other assistants helped with taking care of the Pokémon or making those boring reports, someone like Tracey. But the most of them went to another institute. Some of them took a few days off. Yeah, it's summer.

Nothing much happened today, just like every other day here. Sometimes I didn't get how my grandfather could survive like this. If I would sit here a bit longer, I would die. Seriously. Besides, this whole thing was pretty monotone. I liked researching the Pokémon, but I missed the action. That's why I loved field work. Then you could do other things in the meanwhile, things that were expected or unexpected. Once in a while I bumped into a trainer, colleagues, old friends…

I shook my head. It was getting dusk already. I put down the stuff next to me so I could stand up. I stretched myself, what hurt more than I thought. It wouldn't take long before I turned into my grandfather. The view was beautiful at the moment. Everything got an enchanting orange-colour. The pond, which wasn't far away from me, sparkled because of the sunset's last sunbeams. The different groups of Pokémon walked to their sleeping places on the fields.

"Gary!" I heard my grandfather screaming. He waved at me near the back door the lab. I gave him a sign I was coming. I picked up the papers together with my laptop and I started to walk back to the lab slowly.

When I closed the back door behind me, I couldn't find my grandfather anywhere. I even called him, but I didn't get any response. I didn't feel like waiting for him, so I started cooking. I was too lazy to cook something difficult. It became a simple, Eastern meal: Rice with some wok vegetables and a creamy sauce.

The sauce was almost done. I stirred the warm matter before I poured it in a bowl. Then I heard the front door opening. I set the egg-timer to five minutes for the rice, and I went to the door. My grandfather was talking in the doorway of the front door. I could only hear a part of what they were saying.

"…the rebuilding of the living room took longer than expected. Is it possible that…?

"Of course! I'll inform Gary, I hope he won't make such a fuss."

I bumped up against grandpa. His eyes were widened from surprise.

"Ah, Gary! I was looking for you," he said buoyant. "Look who's come to visit us!"

I stared over his shoulder to the person who was standing in the doorway.

_Crap._

Thank you so much for reading it! -gives a cookie-  
You know, I quickly lose interest when I write multi-chaptered stories. So please review, it keeps me writing (I hope)


	2. Annoyed

**Warnings: **None...

**Author's note: **First off, I got three times a sorry for you guys.  
I'm sorry it took so long before I could finally upload it. The Dutch version was done _weeks_ ago. Please, I really thought I could get it done quickly... But I got too much to do for school. It's horrible I can get so much homework ._.  
I'm sorry this chapter isn't even special at all. But this chapter just needed to be done...  
I'm sorry it may take long before the third chapter will be up. I have to do so much...  
I'm just really sorry, okay? I hope you'll forgive me. :3

Again, English is not my first language and the English teachers don't teach me anything at all. I have to learn it all by myself.

So, uhm... enjoy :)

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2. Annoyed**_

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No, there were two of them. And the one made the problem worse for the other problem. The people I didn't want to see just now stood in frond of my nose. My grandpa smiled, exchanging encouraging looks with me and the guests. One of the guests understood my grandfather's looks, and she gripped me in a way too big embrace.

"Oh Gary! How wonderful to see you again! How is your research going?" she asked excited. I'd seen her not that long ago, so I didn't get why I should answer that question. But I didn't want to have a discussion about something like that.

"Hello Delia. I'm fine, it's kind of busy here at the moment," I explained. Delia gave me a confirming smile and she held me tightly once again. Sometimes it just seemed like she was my mother. She was so caring.

Mrs. Ketchum let me go. The other figure came forward now. He got a big grin in his face. "Hey Gary! Long time no see, huh?"

I attempted to sound enthusiastic. "Hey Ash. Great to see you again," I lied. His grin grew wider.

"So, Gary," my grandfather began when his face became a bit more serious. "We were talking… You know the Ketchums are rebuilding the house."

I already knew where this was going to, but I didn't bother to cut him off.

"We are working on a big part of the house. And Ash's room isn't really usable right now." Delia explained frowning like she was thinking about something difficult.

I lifted an eyebrow. "So…?"

"So!" Ash said. "I was wondering if I could stay over at your house for the upcoming time." Three exact the same hopeful faces were staring at me. It felt like my whole body was turning red.

"Here? Gramps, we don't have a third room!"

"I know, but he can sleep in your ro-"

"And who exactly says I want that?!" I asked irritated. The joyful faces were disappeared now. My grandfather looked at me with his famous you-disappointed-me eyes, Delia became somewhat pale and Ash seemed… mad. Delia placed her hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Honey, we'll search for something else okay?" she said to cheer Ash up. I don't know how or why, but I started to regret what I just told them.

"Wait," I blurted out without thinking about it. The trio looked up to me. I realized what I'd said, and I needed some time to seek for the right words.

"Err, I mean…" I said hesitating, "he can spend the night here if he has nowhere else to go."

The faces lit up, to my big relieve. I first thought I was going to die. Delia was the first one who responded. "Oh, that's fantastic! Did you hear that Ash? You can sleep with your little friend!" she said happily to her son like the conversation never took place. Embarrassed, Ash dropped his gaze to the ground because of his mother's message.

"Mum," Ash mumbled whiningly. Delia rattled some more a about how Ash should behave and other over concerned motherly-things. Ash tiredly answered everything with small nods. In the meanwhile, my grandfather signed something, using his hands and facial expression, which seemed pretty unfriendly. I ignored him, knowing this was about the conversation we just had. The only I said was my opinion. I didn't want Ash to be here. Now he would be hanging around here, I know I had to look after him every time… And I didn't want that, really.

Delia was done talking. She kissed Ash on the cheek. "Behave yourself!" she said for the millionth time.

"I will," Ash promised, whereupon we waved the women goodbye.

The professor turned himself to Ash. "Welcome Ash! I hope you're able to make yourself at home here."

"Well, I already know the lab a little," Ash said while he scratched the back of his head. "I won't stay here so long." Thank God. "By the way... I smell fire."

Fire... fire! I raced to the kitchen where the egg-timer was beeping fanatically. I 'punched' it off, and I quickly reached for the pot filled with rice. The water was more than just cooking. The rice had turned into porridge. Ash and Gramps had followed me to the kitchen. Both had their mouths open to ask something, but I got the change to say something before they could even ask.

"The rice turned out wrong," I sighed. Gramps examined the pot.

"No, I don't think we can eat that. Wait, I'll get some new rice, it doesn't have to cook so long." And he sought his way to the storeroom.

"What were you making?" Ash questioned me curiously.

"An Eastern meal," I told him coldly. Like he couldn't think of that after he'd seen the rice.

With the weirdest expression on his face, he stared to the sauces that were standing on the kitchen table. "I didn't know you can cook."

"At least I'm better than you."

He pouted and with stomping feet he walked into the living room again. My grandfather came out of the storeroom with the new rice in his hands. I poured the grains into the ppt which was filled with water. I set the egg-timer again. While I waited, I listened to my grandfather, who was sitting with Ash in the living room. From what I could hear, Ash was telling about the new Pokémon species he'd seen and the ones he'd caught. Gramps was proud of him, because I saw him patting Ash on the back and Ash began to explain things even more enthusiastic. Still, a big part of me wanted to kick Ash out of the house. He made everything so complicated… And that's not only because he would mess up the lab. I would mentally freak out.

Beep-beep-beep… – The rice was done.

After a minute or ten, we were all sitting around the table. I set the table, but I didn't add any 'special' things, only the necessary ones. I couldn't care less what the table looked like. Gramps never minded, and Ash wasn't that critical. I was hungry, so my plate was empty already. I grasped for the rice, I removed the lid from the pot. The pot was empty. Speechless, I stared at the last few grains of rice that remained. I even made an extra portion because Ash was here. Ash…

My eyes fell on Ash's plate, and I realized where all the rice went. You could almost compare the rice to a mountain with many litres of sweet sauce on top of it. But that wasn't a big deal for Ash, he was always hungry. The large amount he'd put in his mouth all at once somewhat concerned me, though.

"Ash…" I started, hoping he knew what I was going to say. He glanced at me with his innocent brown eyes. Some grains of rice were still sticking on his cheeks. All the hope was gone. I sighed.

"Enjoy your dinner."

The tableware was put in the dishwasher, and we sat downstairs for a little while. Ash was wondering about his Pokémon, especially Pikachu, he'd left behind at the lab. They were fine, of course. But Ash didn't want to believe it. He'd rather wanted to run to his Pokémon instantly to check they were really okay. Fortunately, my grandfather was there to tell him it was better for Ash to go tomorrow. We moved the 'trip' to the next day, since Ash hadn't got anything important to do here.

I wasn't really late yet when I decided to go upstairs to rewrite the damaged report with the bites in it. Originally, Ash stayed downstairs with my grandfather, but after a few minutes I heard his footsteps on the staircase.

"Hey Gary!"

"He-"

"Aww, your room is still exactly the same," Ash said on a bored tone. "The only different things are… those papers."

"Yeah, I know. They're for my research. I haven't got enough time to arrange it."

"Oh," he managed to say, slightly uninterested. His gaze pointed to the table where I was working, something got his attention. "What's this?"

"Don't touch it, I need that," I said softly before I started to write again.

"…You're studying teeth?"

"A Girafarig has bitten in it."

Ash blinked for a moment, and he put the torn papers down where he'd found them. Stretched out, he lay down on the bed. "Are you done soon?"

"No."

He sighed. He groaned extra hard and nested himself on my bed. After that, his side became quiet. I yawned and I tried to finish my work for today.

The other evening hours went by pretty fast. I managed to fully finish the rewritten report. With a small smile on my lips, I shoved the report away from me. The clock showed me it was late already. I took a quick shower before I was going to dreamland. I pulled the pyjama over my head and I shuffled to my room. I wanted to fall in my bed. My head felt so heavy I almost fell, but I stopped myself. Ash was still lying in my bed.

"Ash, get out of my bed." No reaction.

"Ash," I mumbled again, but I knew he wouldn't hear it. Sleeping like a log, he lay curled up on the blankets. His arms were wrapped around his body. That actually showed he found it cold here. Tiredly I rubbed my eyes, and I searched for the wrinkled blankets which were rolled of the bed. I shook the folds away, whereupon I lay them on Ash carefully. I looked at him for a minute.

"Good night," I whispered, still knowing he didn't hear it. I turned myself to the dusty floor. I forgot we didn't have a third bed. I gripped the edge of the table so I could stand up straight. Gramps hadn't said anything about where I had to sleep. I wanted to be sure that Ash didn't touch my work, so I took my bathrobe, wrapped it around me, and I took place on my chair. I let my head and arms rest on the table. Hopefully, I could get some sleep like this.

Had a bad night, no sleep at all, painful back, headache.

My eyes opened slowly. There was no light that shone through the curtains. I sought the digital clock. 5 o'clock. I was sure I couldn't sleep anymore. Slowly I attempted to stand up: a new day has begun.

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Please review. I love them, and it keeps me writing. You'll get a cookie in return! 8D


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